“Come, former prince,” he said. “Let’s see how hard can you make this job.”
I shot a blast of force—a cheap shot—and bolted at him as he regained his bearings.
The elite leader still managed to block in time. His eyes widened when he took one look at Ruin.
“You have one those swords.” He shook his head. “I just don’t understand nature.” Moses pulled back, but I continued forward, keeping the bastard on the defenses.
I needed to finish this—state two could lose stability at any moment and I could either lose control or even fizzle out. I aimed a hand at his shoes—risking the loss of essence for this one—and fused them with the ground. I pulled the semi toward him with force. The god didn’t lose a beat as he somehow undid the binding and jumped on top of the semi, stopping it with his own force.
“You’re much stronger than we took you for,” he said then raised a hand.
The moment I saw it spark, I dove to the side. A bolt of lightning struck in my prior spot. Whew.
This was the primary reason why being in the air while facing off against a god sucked. They could call down lightning. Well not everyone could do so, but there was only one clan known for excessively causing lightning phenomenon. The Jupiter Clan.
Moses smiled as if reading my thoughts. I took that as the cue to start running. I wasn’t wrong. The elite leader consecutively unleashed seven more lightning bolts, each narrowly missing me by what felt like an inch.
I shot a solar energy ball at his hand knocking the sword out of it. He scooped it up then reengaged with me.
Strike, block, strike, block, neither of us seemed to be gaining. Well, I wasn’t gaining. Moses looked as if he’s having the time of his life, like this is simply a leisurely event. And maybe it was. Everyone’s having a fucking dandy time, but me.
I pulled back, hopped backward, and took a risky draw of solar energy from the moon. It resisted. I pulled with my greatest effort until at last, I was able to fill my tank to half.
“Tell me, halfling, what drives you?” Moses said. “Let me try to understand you a bit. Why break the law?”
“Will it matter how I answer?” I said. “When I tried to surrender, you bastards wouldn’t even allow that.”
“You did?” he shot a glare at his crew. “Marissa, you allowed this torture?”
Daniel stepped to her defense.
“Moses, you know how I am. Besides, look at his records and tell me he shouldn’t be punished. Why would the House call a huge meeting with an urgency as if the King himself stepped into our realm? I know Jose wanted to let him off easy on account of his family, but I refused. And when he attacked, I just knew I made the right choice.”
“But he surrendered,” Moses said.
“Take a look at him,” Jose said. “Is that a surrender? Who knows what kind of dirty tricks he’d use—we see for ourselves how the numerous hunter crews sent after him either never returned or came back empty handed.”
“Numerous hunter crews?” I said. “Look, the only hunters I’ve encountered were Yulese, the four that were sent by Michael, and if you want to count Karma, then do so.”
Moses laughed.
“You defeated Karma? Now that’s interesting.”
“I’m pretty sure she let me win, but that’s not the point. Just let me explain everythi—”
“I will find out what drives you, Epex Helios,” Moses interrupted. “You’re not just some halfling—there must be a reason why you were the heir to the universal throne.”
The elite leader’s heavenly-light went crazy as it swirled around him like a giant tornado. Winds picked up. “Time to get serious.”
Let me tell you something about life. It sucks. There were once tales of an ancient primal called Life. Well, if she exists, she sucks. You want to know why I’m emphasizing this? You want to know why my eyes widened and I begin to tremble inside. No, not because Moses exerted out incredible energy.
My second state, the one that allowed me to go toe-to-toe with the elite hunters and survive, wore off, downgrading to state one. And to make things better, I felt a steady plummet of my essence.
Fuck, I’m so fucked. Shit!
Chapter Sixteen
Moses’s eyes widened as he witnessed my juice running out like a car wheezing its last gasless breath before leaving the driver stranded. What’s the term used for someone completely screwed? Oh, that’s right, fucked. What’s worse than being fucked? Not having a way out of said situation.
“Well, I guess it’s back to square one,” Moses said.
“Arrest him,” Marissa said to the lower ranked elites. Moses held up a hand.
“This is going to contradict how I felt earlier, but allow me to show him what happens to those who don’t know their place.”
Moses’s fist was the next thing I saw.
The blow bazooka’d me to the ground—yes, I said bazooka’d. It knocked me a few meters from the son of bitch. Fuck, the crater I created seemed to absorb some of the pain.
“You see Epex Helios, what happens when you bite off way more than you can chew?” Moses picked me up by the throat. I struggled to breathe. “It all started when you were given a two-year sentence. You’ve let the inevitable drag out until getting to this point. And now. Well, I’m going to make it hurt. A lot.”
He beat the shit out of me. By the sixth punch, exhaustion hit. It didn’t get better when the bastard slammed me to the ground.
State one flickered off then back on again. Dammit. I swear it seemed like every time I get somewhere, someone stronger than me comes along and slapped me back to square one. This was getting old! I’m not living in some kind of anime dammit—I need to get out of this.
I placed my hand on the road. Let’s see if this old trick will work. Buying time wasn’t my style—but Amelia wouldn’t be able to ignore the clashes of power. Judging by how much time had passed, the elite either put up a barrier to prevent ascending or Mosses killed her. He did show up late.
I shoved away the thoughts and asked the molecules of the road to change. Nothing happened. Moses smiled.
“You’re not only who can use conversion and manifestation, Epex,” he said. “I told the surrounding area not to change shape until we leave.”
The god kicked me hard enough to send me flying. He moved so fast, the asshat met me on the other side and punched me to the ground. The explosion of raw pain felt like a car crash.
“Enough,” I wheezed. “I surrender. Just send me off.”
“I don’t think so,” Moses said. “You may as well get used to this, because when you get to the depths, it’s going to be way worse, forever. Now take your sword.” He used force to send it flying at me. I caught it with a single hand. “Epex Helios, your punishment isn’t over yet. It hasn’t even begun.”
I charged him, fighting my exhaustion, tank of essence diminishing. He blocked my sword, pulled back, and then inflicted a painful slash across my shoulder and arm. My backward movement is what saved it from being hacked off. My body pulsed.
For some reason, Ruin and even my arms felt heavier. My vision blurred for a few seconds.
Blood continued to flow from the fresh wound. Moses came at me again. I aimed a hand at him, straining for a shot of force. The elite leader didn’t react to what probably felt like weaker than a mosquito bite.
The next few slashes came across my legs, my chest, my forehead, and even my back when I attempted to dodge. Everything felt heavier. I could barely move.
“Epex, do yourself a favor. Look at my handy work. Look at your body.”
I did and was shocked. Starting from the wounds, my body began to turn into stone.
“What you see is a result of my sword, the blade of petrification,” Moses said. “You took the punishment and now you’ll watch yourself die.”
State one fizzled out as if in response to his words. I could no longer move.
“Everyone, give your blade a taste of his blood,” Moses said. “Stab into
his flesh.”
Everyone except the Anna chick moved.
“Come on Anna, it’s the start of a new tradition,” Jose said.
She hesitated, as if conflicted with something. “Come on.”
“This doesn’t feel right,” she told Jose. “Can we just please send him to the afterlife and leave?”
Jose gave her a death glare.
“You do understand your position, number seven, Anna. Put aside your standard morals and think in a leading position, else you’ll be kicked out of the elites.”
“I’m—s—sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Jose said. “We’re just doing our jobs. Keep that in mind.”
She hurried behind the ground as they approached me, the struggling demigod.
I tried to force open the lock to state two but it was no good. I even tried to go for the higher locks in hopes that my powers would go out of control. No such luck here. There just wasn’t a single drop of essence left in my tank—the petrification was too strong. Reaching elite standards. Damn.
“Epex Helios, fallen prince of the universal throne, today you will be an example of justice,” Moses said. He punched me a few times in the face then gave me a look of disgust. “We will do what has to be done, to show what will happen to those that want to get the elite involved. Everyone, stab some flesh.”
A whirlwind of pain encircled my body as they stabbed into me from various places. Marissa even pulled out a dagger and stabbed one of my eyes.
I yelled in agony but couldn’t even move my stony arms to cover that eye. My wounds weren’t healing on their own due to lack of essence.
I stopped screaming and held it in just to keep them from having more satisfaction, the sadistic fucks.
The stabbing stopped after a few seconds. Stone covered seventy percent of my body by now, from lower body to a steady degree of rising.
So this is how I’d die.
Well, at least it was by the very best I must say. It’d be shitty if that first misthanger killed me… Wow, that day felt like it happened so long ago. From fighting off demons, to joining Sunset, fighting toe-to-toe with mankind’s favorite bitch, Karma. Among the passed time, I felt more than just a physical attraction to Amelia, I’ve discovered the truth of my mother, and was so close to being among the element that would destroy Sunset.
As I saw Amelia land from her flight, I weakly smiled.
“I love you. And I’m sorry you have to see me like this.”
Blackness. The stoned covered me and I died.
End of part one…
Interlude 1
Before the elite’s assault…
When Aether finished work for the day, he waved his boss off, and then headed home.
He remembered the days starting off as a simple scribe but quickly made his way to second in charge by being more competent than the others. He trained employees now.
As Aether opened the door to this apartment, a thought occurred to him. Why should he do this alone—there’s bound to be others who wanted to do something about the current system. He could gain a following. He didn’t want a cult or violence; however. Just likeminded people.
Legends state that the first of the fallen tried the cult thing and failed miserably.
Aether just wanted change. He wished for a fair system, fair justice, and true free will like the humans. One step at a time, he thought.
Aether brewed a pitcher of coffee then sat at his desk with a pen and pad. It was time to write a letter. After four tries of writing, ripping unsatisfactory pieces to shreds, the demigod finally finished with something worthy of his handwriting.
He started to call it a night but a knock at his door changed his mind. The demigod took a second to observe his large one-bedroom apartment. It was modern human-styled.
Contrary to popular belief, electricity was just as common in Paradise Realm as the human world. Even more so since lightning spirits replenished it infinitely. Communication sometimes differed but special cellular phones did exist here.
He focused and imagined the front door. Expulsing a tiny bit of essence, he visualized the person outside. In a half-second, he saw her in his mind as if viewing the person on a high-definition television. She was a short goddess with golden-brown skin, short reddish-brown hair, dressed in jeans and a purple designer shirt.
Human world style, huh? Aether put his letter away before taking off to the front door. The moment he opened it, a tiny feeling, maybe instinct in the back of his mind, suggested that he should listen to whatever this beautiful goddess had to say.
Aether didn’t think much of others within Paradise Realm, often dismissing them. He even labeled many as idiots, unable to see the universe and its actors on a large scale.
The goddess’s face lit up as if seeing Aether was one of her greatest accomplishments of all time. The demigod figured her age to be the same as his, give or take a year—though he couldn’t be sure, since most heavenly-beings chose to look youthful.
“Can I help you?” Aether said, his voice beaming pure disinterest.
The girl seemed to be taken aback, slightly, but quickly covered it up with resolve.
“I had a vision about the letter you were about to send,” she said, “and wanted to be a part of it.”
Aether froze, confused, shocked, and bewildered at the same time. He socialized with no one other than his father, so there shouldn’t be any psychic phenomenon involving his insignificant letter whatsoever. In fact, the letter would be going to the plane of Valkyries—not even Conus will know that it exists.
What the goddess said next, answered Aether’s confusion and perhaps, uneasiness. “I’m your destined one.”
Aether looked thoughtful for a second before speaking. “Heh, so demigods aren’t an exception to the birth pairing.”
“No,” said the goddess.
Aether shrugged. “I’m Aether. You are?”
“You…don’t already know me?” she said, disappointment plain as daylight on her face.
“No,” Aether replied, bluntness in his tone. He wasn’t in the mood for nonsense. “As a demigod, I’m clearly unaffected by whatever happens to everyone else.”
He felt a mix of anger and annoyance from her.
“I’m Marin of the Saturn clan,” she said as she placed her hands on her hips.
Her frown vanished when Aether suddenly smiled. A perfect smile.
“Pleased to meet you,” he said. “Come inside. The bulk of the Saturn clan is on the other half of the realm, right? I offer you my bed for the night.”
“So there is a gentleman behind that wall of grumpiness.”
Aether chuckled as he led Marin inside.
“Sorry. Must be the leftover bark from work.”
Marin nodded.
“That’s the office life for you, even for bosses like us.”
Aether pretended not to be a little disturbed by the insight Marin had on him.
“So…office job too, huh?”
“Prayer Corporation,” she replied then sighed. “It sucks.”
“Ah.” Aether pointed at his bedroom toward the back of his apartment. “There’s the room. Bathroom is opposite of it.”
“I won’t take your bed,” she said. “I can simply ascend home. I only came here to chat.”
“This late?” Aether challenged. “And why now?”
“I couldn’t sense you until today—and I’ve imprinted.”
Aether shrugged again.
“Fine. Let’s chat. Over dinner, I guess. I know a pretty good place you’ll like a few miles from here. If you don’t mind.”
Marina blinked.
“A date so suddenly. You’re either smooth or dense. I can’t figure it out.”
Aether blinked too, realizing the implications, but not caring. He hadn’t eaten in hours. Who cared how this arrangement sounded? Still, he’d roll with it. Something within urged him to do.
“Was that not smooth enough?” he joked.
Marin laughed. A
ether grabbed the goddess’s hand, imagined the restaurant, and within a heartbeat, the duo stood in front of the door. Marin’s surprised showed all over her face.
“How…?”
“I can use quick-ascensions for up to eight miles,” the demigod explained in a voice that sounded as if this was a common ability.
He took into account that the normal maximum distance for the teleport was no more than one hundred yards.
Marin opened her mouth as if preparing to unleash a load of questions but Aether didn’t give her a chance. “Let’s go.”
Aether took a second to observe Paradise Realm’s night. It wasn’t too different from Earth’s nights. Sure, there were three moons, one pearly white, one emerald-green, and the third, a glowing orange-red, but that was beside the point. Bright, glistening stars paraded the sky like multicolored magic glitter.
Aether led the goddess inside the restaurant. Famous for human world cuisine, the demigod couldn’t get enough of this place.
“Table for two,” he said to the angelic waitress. She nodded then pointed at a golden table near a window.
“What human world nation are you looking to try today,” she asked, enthusiasm in her voice. Marin forced herself to ignore the angel’s seemingly over-interest in the half-angel, half-god. She did admit to herself how nice this place looked.
“Let’s go with Japan today,” he responded. “Make it a platter of various dishes.”
“Chef, you heard the man,” the angel shouted to a window behind her.
Aether led Marin to the assigned table.
“You and I have to chat,” he said. “So tell me about…” he paused as a revelation of information and feelings flooded into his mind and perhaps his soul. In fact, this felt overwhelming to the point of inducing a headache.
A second later, the pain that raged war with his head vanished completely. He knew. He just knew.
The new information and feelings didn’t change him of course and if he wanted, he could reject the goddess. However, the attraction he felt now mimicked the human’s, “love at first sight” phenomenon. “I guess you won’t have to tell me anything,” Aether said, gleam in his eyes.
Till the Last Breath Page 7